The early history of Upsala is documented in the Tweedsmuir History, completed by the Upsala Women’s Institute, in February 1954.

The Ojibwa people first demonstrated the suitability of the Upsala region for permanent settlement. The land was rich in natural resources that could sustain life. These original permanent inhabitants had encampments scattered throughout the entire Upsala area. The communities were self-sustaining for generations, based on a hunting and trapping economy. Descendants of these early residents are current members of the Upsala community and the Lac Des Mille Lacs reserve.

Early French Fur Trade Period

In 1688 Jacques de Noyon, a fur trader from Trois Rivieres, Quebec was the first European to learn of the Kaministiquia fur trade route heading west through Lac Des Mille Lacs. The route was shown to him by natives in the area. From Lake Superior, this route led west up the Kaministiquia River, through Dog Lake, Dog River, Coldwater Lake, Savanne River, Lac Des Mille Lacs, Pickerel Lake and the Maligne River to Lac La Croix.

A description of de Noyon’s route is found in a memorandum to the Duke of Orleans dated November 1716. In this letter, Lac Des Mille Lacs is described as the largest lake enroute:

“Then we enter a river that is about 30 miles long and which goes down into Canoe Lake (Lac Des Mille Lacs). We cross this lake for some 18 miles to the right and enter a bay where we portage over a poplar point for about 3 acres.”

The Kaministiquia River route was used by French fur traders until the 1720s. In 1731, LaVerendrye learned of the Pigeon River route which follows the present international boundary between the United States and Canada. The Pigeon River route, despite a long portage from Lake Superior to the navigable portion of the Pigeon River itself, was a shorter route, joining the Kaministiquia Route at Lac La Croix.

 

The Northwest Company

While the Hudson’s Bay Company dominated the fur trade in areas where water flowed north to the Arctic Ocean, an enterprising group of Scottish merchants from Montreal formed the Northwest company and established a successful fur trade venture making use of the routes used by earlier French traders.  From the 1770’s until the end of that century, the Pigeon River route was used.

The inland headquarters of the Northwest company was found at Grand Portage, in present day Minnesota.  The independence of the United States did not have an immediate effect on the use of the Pigeon River route until the passing of Jay’s Treaty in 1794.  Nor’Wester Roderick McKenzie sought a more northern route, so that the Northwest company would not have to pay taxes on furs and trade goods, and rediscovered the Kaministiquia route.  He wrote:

On my trip from Grande Portage is Lac La Pluie (Raining Lake), I met a family of Indians at the Height of Land and accidentally learned of a water route from Lake Superior to Lake La Pluie navigable for large canoes and would avid the Grande Portage.”

By 1801, the Kaministiquia River route became the regular route for Northwest company voyagers.  They transported trade goods to the west, and carried furs back to the new inland headquarters, Fort William, named in 1807 for William MacGillivray, nephew of the founder of the Northwest Company, Simon McTavish.  Fort William was located in present day Thunder Bay, where a reconstructed replica is a well-known historic site.

 

The role of Lac Des Mille Lacs during the fur trade

Through these waters to the west, through Lac Des Mille Lacs, the French-Canadian voyageurs also transported Nor’Westers who would be named among Canada’s famous explorers, Alexander McKenzie was the first European to travel by land across present day Canada to the Pacific Ocean.  David Thompson, a famous cartographer who drew the first accurate maps of the interior.  In his later years, Thompson was employed to survey the international boundary by the first International Joint Boundary Commission.

The Northwest Company constructed a building on Lac des Mille Lacs commonly referred to as “Milles Lacs Hour”.  In 1930, historian Voorhis describes it as “a small relay station and store house for provisions maintained by the North West Company…. situated to the right of two islands at Mountain Portage.”

A baptism ceremony was held for voyagers making their first journey into the interior at the Height of Land, just east of Lac des Mille Lacs.  Today the Height of Land, known as the Arctic Watershed, is marked by signs on Highway 17.  West of the Height of Land, all water flows north to the Arctic Ocean.

The far-flung empire of the Northwest Company, all in search of beaver furs for gentlemen’s top hats, did much for claiming this land for the British Empire.  Most of the posts of the company, along major water routes, became provincial capitols and are major cities today.  Unfortunately, the Northwest Company was unable to finance this enormous network.  In part this was due to court costs arising from an incident between the Hudson’s Bay Company and the Northwest Company in 1816, know as the Seven Oaks Massacre, which took place in present day Manitoba.

In 1821 the Northwest Company was absorbed by the Hudson’s Bay Company, and all trade was redirected north to James Bay and Hudson Bay.  By the mid-19^th century fashions changed and the felt tophat was eventually replaced by a silk tophat.  Although the beaver was severely depleted in North America, it has made a significant comeback; its population is extremely high today.

With the development of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) and the accompanying settlement of the area by Euro-Canadians, the federal government pushed for the aboriginal settlers in the area to join together in one geographic location.  This began the Lac des Mille Lacs Indian reserve on land of roughly 10 square miles.  In 1910, there were about 100 families living on the reserve.  Because members of the reserve came under two different treaties (Treaty 9 and Treaty 3), the Upsala area was visited each June on Treaty Day by as many as 1,000 aboriginal people.

Euro-Canadian and European immigrant settlers first came to the Upsala area to construct the Canadian Pacific Railway.  The first railway contract from the region began in June, 1876 and by November 1885, the first Winnipeg to Montreal train completed its run.  Upsala placed a pivotal role in the early days of building the railway as supplies were unloaded at Upsala and taken by horse team to the shores of Jackfish Lake where a railway camp was maintained.  Until the introduction of the diesel engines in the mid-1950s.  Upsala was a watering stop for steam-driven trains.

No documentation was left as to how the community acquired its name, but the use of Upsala is recorded from the early days of rail construction.

 

Forest fire

The supply of white pine seemed endless and even before the completion of the railway, steamboats were used on Lac des Mille Lacs to tow large rafts of wood to a sawmill at Savanne.  The earliest known steamboat used on Lac des Mille Lacs was owned by George A. McLaurin in 1870.  During the 1870’s the first dam on Lac des Mille Lacs was built by a Mr. Hogan who owned the Savanne sawmill operation.  The dam controlled the Seine River outflow and aided the operation of the sawmill.

Fire has always been a common and threatening hazard in the boreal forest.  The year of 1816 was known as the year of no sun by the Nor’Westers, due to the large fires that burned across Northern Ontario.  In July of 1887, bush fires again swept the region, causing the destruction of valuable timber stands and slowing immediate development in the area around Lac des Mille Lacs.  (Two later fires – during the early 1900s in the Graham area and another northeast of Upsala in the 1930s – destroyed huge tracts of white pine and poplar.  The effects of all of these fires are still reflected in the forests of the region today.)

The Savanne Trading Post

Other growing businesses in the area included several sawmills in addition to Hogan’s, a saloon, various trapping enterprises, and businesses associated with the railway, such as accommodation for crews and survey gangs.  In addition, the area had always been an important area of traditional use by natives, who earlier in the century had played such a significant role in the fur trade.

Native trappers continued to play a role in the economy of the area by providing furs for goods at the Savanne Trading Post, a two-storey building constructed from tamarack logs and spruce lumber.  It was owned by George McLaurin, the steamboat operator.  It was established in 1892, just north of the CPR railway at the Savanne River, about 450 meters from present day Highway 17.  McLaurin was a prosperous fur trader with 13 posts scattered along Lake St. Joseph and the Albany River.

The Savanne Trading Post was purchased by his partner Frank Edwards in 1910.  Although the 13 outposts were sold to the Hudson’s Bay Company, Edwards continued to trade furs, operate a store and act as the area’s postmaster until his death in 1954.  His oldest son, William, reopened the building as a tourist outfitting post and provided guiding services during the hunts and fishing seasons, and continued to deal in furs.

The old Savanne Trading Post contained many historical artifacts, such as a muzzle-loading Belgian Brownie shotgun in perfect working condition, a zither, a piano, and an original Oliver Standard Visible Typewriter made in 1896, as well as ceremonial drums and headpieces used by the Ojibway natives of the area.  The Toronto Museum of Natural History was one of the many museums that tried to obtain some of these artifacts.  Unfortunately, a fire destroyed the Old Edwards Store in 1962, including the original building and all its contents.

The township of Upsala, a six-mile square area, was surveyed in 1914.  Besides land suitable for the building of a railway, the survey showed that the soil was suitable for agricultural development.  At the time of the establishment of the township, four lots were set aside as a site for an experimental farm.  Although the mode farm is yet to be established, the four lots are still currently available for such development.

The early settlers established the Agriculture Society of Upsala.  The suitability of the area soils for group potatoes was confirmed by the prize-winning record in the 500 Bushel per Acre Club contest.

“In 1944, the Thunder Bay Soil and Crop Improvement Association inaugurated what was called the 500 Bushel per Acre Club.  We are proud to say that the coveted award has come to Upsala every year since that time (1944-53) with the exception of 1945.  There was only one year that the bushels per acre was less than 500 and, in a few cases, the estimated yield was around 650 bushels.”                                                                                               Tweedsmuir History, 1954

The Township of Upsala began on May 15, 1922 when, by Order of Council, public lands were sold.

The Township of Upsala in the District of Thunder Bay consisting of 62 lots has been opened for sale3 by Order-in-Council under Section 50 of the Public Lands Act as the rate of 50 cents per acre, payable one quarter cash and the balance in three annual installments with interest at six per cent per annum.  The pin timber, mines and minerals are to be included in the patents.”                                                                                                                             Tweedsmuir History, 1954

In order to be granted a patent, each settler had to qualify by clearing at least 15 acres each year, build a house and barn (minimum size 16’ by 20’), dig a well and live on the property for at least six months.

The use of the area for pulpwood was established as a secure source of income for the 1920s.  There are early stories of families working together to cut enough pulp to ship by rial to pay the taxes on their land.

Ten years after the establishment of the Township of Upsala, and almost half a century after the first rail line from Winnipeg to Montreal was completed, the section of the Trans-Canada highway from Thunder Bay to Upsala was completed in November 1933.  The first labour boards in the area were established for road gangs beginning in 1924.  Since the, there have been many revisions and upgrading’s to the original Trans-Canada roadbed.  /To this day, this remains the paved road that connects Upsala to other communities as well as coast to coast travel.  There are also presently a few logging roads that provide slow and hazardous connections to the nearest neighbouring communities.  As late at 1952, it took eight hours to travel by horse from Savanne to Upsala for a dance.

The history of Upsala speaks to several community characteristics that should be mentioned.  First, there was the strong evidence of neighbourliness and community spirit.  For example, families worked together to cut logs to pay their taxes; the Upsala Hotel included recreation opportunities for local community people; the community worked together to establish a school and the town held social events that were open to all residents.

 

Upsala Regional Development Association

The community is described as ‘unorganized’, meaning it has no official governing body.   The Upsala Regional Development Association (URDA) has, since its origin in December of 1988, evolved to the point where it functioned like a municipal office.  URDA functioned as a liaison between the community and government officials and programs.  URDA also represented the community to the public and other development agencies when regional development issues were under discussion.   URDA is currently affiliated with Atikokan Economic Development Association. 

Commercial Fishing

The commercial fishing industry on Lac des Mille Lacs began in the 1880s when the first commercial fishing license was issued to a Mr. McKenzie.  Sailboats were first used to transport fish to Savanne every second day.  At times, when there wasn’t enough wind for the sails, the fishermen had to use oars to complete the journey.

Fish were shipped from Savanne to Buffalo and New York City, where pickerel and whitefish were in demand.  The first commercial fishing ended when the resource was nearly depleted in 1921, when stocking attempts were carried out to help replenish the lake.  A second commercial fishery was started in the early 1940s, when fish were needed to help with the war effort.

 

The Area’s Most Popular Fishing Lake

About this same time, new advancements in float plane design opened up the area to resorts and fishing camps.  The first fishing lodge was opened in 1946 at Pine Point by George Edwards.  Sport fishing increased dramatically during the 1960s, when most of the tourist establishments and cottages were developed on Lac des Mille Lacs.

Lac des Mille Lacs has been an important resource from its first use by natives and fur traders to its transformation from a railway depot to a tourism and recreation hot spot.  Today, Lac des Mille Lacs is considered the most popular sport fishing lake in the Thunder Bay District, representing almost 30% of the district’s walleye catch.  The lake’s tourism and sport fishing opportunities are of regional significance to local anglers and non-resident anglers alike.

 

Volunteer Ambulance Service

In 1974, a group of concerned citizens formed a steering committee to seek assistance in creating an ambulance service in Upsala.  By 1976 the Upsala Volunteer Ambulance Services Association (UVASA) was established.

The first ambulance supplied by the Ministry of Health was sheltered in a small, donated garage behind the general store.  The new service consisted of 27 volunteers trained in First Aid, and a self-dispatching system to cover an area of 5,100 square miles, from Raith to English River, and Lac des Mille Lacs to as far north as Km 100 on the Graham Road.  Using funds from the Ministry of Norther Affairs, generous donations of building materials from area businesses, and a great deal of volunteer labour, a new 2,000 square foot garage and training building was completed in September 1980, on the North Road.

UVASA continued to lead the expansion of health care services in the area.  In 1987, the association hired its first full-time ambulance attendant to co-ordinate ambulance operations and volunteer training.  In 1988, a helicopter landing pad was installed to accommodate an air ambulance on a 24-hour basis.  A new province-wide communications system was set in place in 1989, giving our service continual radio communication to a dispatch centre and Thunder Bay hospitals.

Construction of the Upsala/McKellar Nursing station started in 1990 and was officially opened in May 1993, staffed by two part-time registered nurses.  In 1994, UVASA welcomed the services of a chiropractor, who made weekly visits to the community.